Delhi Police protest: Why cops cannot take to the streets like ordinary citizens

The Delhi Police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against advocate Prashant Bhushan following the alleged circulation of a manipulated video featuring Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The incident was brought to the attention of the Special Cell by cyber patrolling on November 3. The FIR was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, including forgery for reputational harm, incitement of violence, defamation, fraudulent use of electronic records, and identity theft.

The police claim the matter arose after social media user @thequotesnews shared claims of a doctored video of Mr. Lavrov criticizing India's internal affairs and oil purchases on Bhushan's social media handle, @pbhushan1. The video was alleged to contain misleading, defamatory, and inflammatory content intended to incite public disturbance and spread rumors.

Both the Ministry of External Affairs' Fact Check unit and the Russian Embassy had previously dismissed the video as fabricated. Bhushan had shared the clip on social media, presenting it as a "tight slap" against the Indian government. The Ministry and the Russian Embassy subsequently confirmed the video's falsification through digitally altered audio and captions. Further investigation into the matter is currently underway.